Hello. First of all, sorry if I'm a man in a women's discussion forum.
Second, I am a graduate of both The Learning Tree (TLT) and Community of Learners Foundation (COLF/CL/CoL). And let me share with you my experiences with both schools. Wala po itong bias on both schools, kahit graduate ako ng pareho. It's up to you to formulate your own judgment(s) based on my experiences.
Before I studied at TLT in 1998, I was a student of Diliman Preparatory School for about 3 years (SY's 1995-1996, 1996-1997, and 1997-1998). While DPS was the school I envisioned myself to graduate from kinder to high school, my 1997-1998 experience was traumatic (and life-turning). I was bullied. Being consistently on the top of the class for two school years, I was subject to bullying from, lest I say, not-so-better students.
Lagi silang nanghihingi ng assignments sa akin pero hindi ko naman binibigay sa kanila... kaya ako na-bully. I did not tell my mother about this until I did one rebellious thing: while waiting for the school bus to arrive and pick us up, I told two of my friends that, out of impatience, we should walk from Commonwealth Ave. until our respective homes (around the Teacher's Village area). When I got home, my mother passed out upon knowing what I did. When she woke up, I told her about what really triggered my impatience (I was, again, bullied by some of my classmates and some upper batchmen who were my busmates). My mother, being protective like a mother should, said that I should transfer to another school next school year and, thus, I enrolled at TLT the following school year.
I applied as a transferee at TLT. I was interviewed at the pre-school department in Cubao and I met the most enigmatic principal I have ever met: Teacher Francie. I don't remember if I took an entrance test but I remember her asking me questions about why I wanted to study there and what I expected from the school. She also asked me about my favorite music, I don't know if my mom had told her or it came out impromptu.
Medyo biniro ko rin sarili ko ngayon na nakapasok ako sa TLT dahil pareho kami ng paboritong banda ni Teacher Francie: The Beatles. I was accepted for the 1998-1999 school year as a Grade 2 student (True to their name, TLT has sections named after, yes, trees. I was a student of Grade 2 Ipil-Ipil, Grade 3 Yakal, Grade 4 Kamagong, Grade 5 Molave, and Grade 6 Almaciga). I found it hard to adjust from DPS to TLT for two reasons: one, I am not really a "people" person. And, two, I don't know anything about how religious people work --- being an agnostic. Moreover, I experienced in my first two school years at TLT the same experience I had in DPS: bullying. My classmates in Grade 2 kept on teasing and bullying me because I was so frail and had little to say. My Grade 3 classmates did the same albeit being friends with them. The teachers here knew what kind of person I was back then and told my friends/bullies to stop (but, they didn't). It was a character-building experience.
The teachers at TLT were very supportive. They knew what my strengths and weaknesses were but they also knew how to balance the two so I ended up being more-than-just-average when I graduated there. They fostered my inclination towards art (It is worth noting that during this time, I didn't know how to construct simple sentences, didn't know how to draw/sketch/paint, and had a little but insignificant music lesson) by letting me "think outside the box" (not their exact words but you get the idea.) I discovered during Grade 4 that I was really inclined in the arts rather than sciences (I was still an average math and science student at the time before I went a little bit downhill with these two subjects). Music classes, for my classmates that time, were boring and hard (We had to distinguish Perfect Fourths and Perfect Fifths with bells) but, for me, it was easy and engaging (I scored a perfect score every quiz). Visual art was still difficult for me but I got selected to exhibit my work with two or three of my classmates. And my writing had improved (Exhibit A).
I also rebelled during this time. For 4 school years since SY 1999-2000 until SY 2002-2003, I was quite the troublemaker both academically and socially. I turned the other leaf while staying also where I was before. In other words, I became both the tormentor and the tormented. But, the teachers knew what to do with me and my friends. They let us spend time for each other in a non-troublemaking way (Sometimes, my teachers or Teacher Francie herself, will let us use the piano for us to tinker on. It had a lasting effect on me) and when the going gets tough, they isolate us in a room full of upper-classmen. Again, it was a character-building experience.
All in all, TLT instilled in me the values that Christians hold dear while also reminding me of what kind of people I might deal with after graduating from that school. TLT never explicitly taught me to respect others but, through example, they taught me to value respect for others especially their belief(s).
COLF, a closely-related school with TLT (both started almost at the same time with COLF being a little bit older than TLT and most TLT graduates study at COLF if not accepted to their traditional school of choice), was my school from Grade 7 (SY 2003-2004) until 4th year HS (SY 2007-2008). Again, not being a "people" person, I had a little difficulty blending in with the people there. But, I made friends easily. Being a bigger school than TLT (but a smaller school than DPS), COLF was a breeding ground for people to socialize and intermingle with the student population. In more or less 10 minutes, I have explored the whole school.
While I was bullied by my classmates because I was a new student, I never really considered being bullied by them because of the different atmosphere of the school. It suddenly became normal for me that bullies exist because it was a "rite of passage" for new students (To be extreme, it was an equivalent of "hazing" just without the actual hazing). The "bullies" I had in COLF are now my friends or acquaintances compared to those who bullied me in both DPS and TLT. For the first time, I also made lasting friendships with the lower and higher batches because, at that time, I was serious about music (I was picking up the guitar and bass). I even had a "girlfriend" from the lower batch during my third year of high school (she was first year).
COLF, like TLT, also fostered my interest in the arts while keeping a tab on my math and science subjects (I was fluctuating between average and satisfactory from my 2nd year to 3rd year of high school). It was also during my stay in COLF that I have discovered a knack for Photography and Poetry (all in my 3rd year, consequently because of the infatuation, and eventually, "love" I had for my first year "girlfriend"). My painting, not drawing/sketching, skill also improved drastically. I was also active in music-related activities performing each year, since I entered COLF, for the annual music event held in school. I also discovered an interest in becoming a music teacher when I was assigned to teach, for one day, the bass guitar to interested students from the lower batch (I had two students who, eventually, became bassists instilled with the discipline and practice I taught them. One of them recently thanked me.)
The teachers in COLF made sure my troublemaking was minimized. I was with people of the same caliber I had in troublemaking. While I was the academic troublemaker during my second year in high school, I did not become a bully. Instead, me and my friends goofed off and did pranks. We respected other students and did pranks within ourselves which, in turn, disturbed the peace within the school. Of course, we were punished by making us stay after class (I even got left by the school bus numerous times) or we get to clean the room (happened once) or, worse, we never get to play in the music event (nearly happened).
I graduated from COLF with a better understanding of myself and how people interact, and was more sensitive to other people's opinion and feelings while being able to form my own judgments. I eventually became a student of UST and Kalayaan College, both schools were like TLT (UST) and COLF (Kalayaan College) for me.
Back when I was in high school, I hated COLF. Looking back now, I believe I had the best five school years of my life there. And TLT? Well, most of my favorite teachers were from TLT.
Sorry po at medyo mahaba ito.
